The invention pertains to pool constructions, particularly, it is directed to the overflow gutter concept. The overflow gutter concept is increasingly being used in the United States and other countries. This concept is not only used in large swim competition pools but also for leisure and residential pools. The perimeter overflow system is often called, deck level, overflow or wet deck. This type of construction involves a gutter which is placed around the whole perimeter of the pool and placed at the deck level of the pool so that water can flow into the gutter and a grating covers the opening of the gutter which is placed at deck level. The grate has to be rigid and strong enough to accommodate foot traffic near the edge of the pool.
Known gratings have connecting stays that run perpendicular to a pool wall. They are extruded, are somewhat flexible and can handle a radius. Straight grates, wherein the stays run parallel to the pool wall, are very rigid and cannot undergo a radius when installing the same, or when necessary to curve the same is very difficult to install and expensive and is subject to failure under certain circumstances. Also the grate bars that run perpendicular to the pool wall are pre-formed by heating and then set into a predetermined radius which does not guarantee a perfect fit. One example is the use of industrial fiberglass which is extruded into sheets. Thereafter, the perpendicular stays are manufactured into the fiber glass sheet to obtain parallel spacing and cut to size. These sheets cannot be placed in a radius at all and, therefore, can only be used in square or rectangular pools. There is a problem with gratings having stays that run perpendicular to the pool wall in that the wave action created by the occupants in the pool will cause the water to splash over the grate and onto the deck. This is so, because the parallel stays will tend to funnel the water through the spaces between them. However, Gratings constructed with stays or grate bars that are parallel to the edge of the,pool have a tendency to hinder the flow of water over the grate because the parallel stays present an obstacle to water flow. Gratings are normally about twelve inches wide and observations have shown that in this type of grate, the water travels at most over no more than 3 gaps. This way the water disappears quickly into the gutter below the grating resulting in a much dryer deck resulting in less falls when bare feet walk over the deck.